Who can resist this carol at Christmas time for a really good sing!

The words of this archetypal Christmas carol are by a whole host of people including the great Charles Wesley (1707 -1788), and also George Whitefield (both founding ministers of Methodism), M. Madan and others – such a long list that I did not put it in the title above. The words are based on text from the book of Luke in the Bible, chapter 2, verse 14: 

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Originally Wesley’s words were quite different from the famous ones which we sing today and the opening began: 

HARK how all the Welkin rings
“Glory to the King of Kings”

That version first appeared in 1739 known as Hymn for Christmas Day in a volume called Hymns and Sacred Poems. It was then changed by Whitehead in 1750 published in the Collection of Hymns for Social Worship and subsequently it was changed again by other in 1782. Much later in 1840 Felix Mendelssohn included the music which became the carol which we know and love today in a cantata called Festgesang written to celebrate the anniversary of the movable printing press. It feels very fitting that celebration of the dissemination of print so that the written word could become more widely known and popular should have given rise to one of the most widely known and popular of carols.

However, it was not Mendelssohn himself who fitted these words to his music, but yet another person called William Hayman Cummings and in the nineteenth century the carol in this version went on to become regarded as one of what were called the Great Four Anglican Hymns used by Anglican and Protestant churches. High praise indeed!

Today the carol has three verses. Originally it had five verses and Wesley had intended the words to be sung to slow and solemn music and liked the same tune as for his Easter hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today.

What, in my opinion has eclipsed even the nineteenth century popularity and status of the carol, though, is the fabulous descant and organ accompaniment of the third verse composed by Sir David Willcocks from 1961 and found in Carols for Choirs book 1. Yes, we all sang our hearts out at school in that descant and at those moments it felt like the embodiment of Christmas.

The compilation I have produced here combines large elements of two of my favourite versions of this carol: an arrangement for harp by American harpist performers and teachers Linda Wood Rollo and Susann McDonald together with – you have guessed it, that very same descant by Sir David Willcocks in the third verse. I have attempted to captured the resonance and depth of an organ in the harp sound, though I know that on the organ the chords would not have to be spread! (If you spread your fingers wide apart, then you will realise the limitations of the size of the hand for which the organ can compensate with its stops and pedalboard!)